A weekend of rioting and violence in Milan was caused by a “hybrid war” being waged against the West, Italy’s defence minister warned on Tuesday.
Days of unrest in Italy has seen demonstrators clash with police, loot shops and vandalise property after peaceful protests over the cost of living and public services turned violent.
“The events in Milan and elsewhere in Italy are fundamentally different from those seen in other eras,” Guido Crosetto said.
“They are the product of what I call 'hybrid warfare'—a form of conflict being waged against our nations through unconventional tools like TikTok, social media, and YouTube.”
Mr Crosetto did not mention who he believed was behind the “hybrid” attacks but the phrase is frequently used to describe Russian attempts to destabilise Europe through the spread of disinformation and cyberattacks. European officials have recently warned that Moscow is stepping up a hybrid campaign on the continent.
Crosetto argued that the West had been slow to respond to the threat, saying young people may be receiving a ‘counter-education’ outside of school and the family.
Italy was due to approve new security measures on Tuesday targeting minors, politicians said, in response to two days of unrest that saw hooded protesters set bins ablaze and shops looted.
Law enforcers will be allowed to detain people under the age of 18 at police stations for 12 hours, even if they have not committed a crime, provided there is evidence they pose a danger, deputy PM Matteo Salvini said.
Rome is also expected to deploy an additional 500 army troops in Milan as authorities fear more unrest at demonstrations planned for Saturday.
"From words to action: 500 more troops to defend Milan," Mr Salvini, who leads the co-ruling right-wing League party, said in a post on X.
Luxury shops in Milan's Via Montenapoleone shopping district, including Chanel, Tiffany and Dior, have removed expensive merchandise from their windows over fears of another day of rioting.
Sports retailers Decathlon and Arc'teryx and mobile phone operator Vodafone were all ransacked over the weekend, while other brands including Levi’s, Under Armour, and Decathlon all covered their shop windows.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who is seeking reelection in next year’s general election, condemned the violence, saying: “Thugs who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those who ensure security, and hold entire cities hostage. Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not.”
Foreign minister Antonio Tajani, who also serves as deputy prime minister like Salvini, wrote on X: "The government will respond firmly to these attacks on the state, including through measures aimed at curbing violence by minors.”
As part of a planned crackdown on the protests, Meloni is considering extending preventive detention for minors and cracking down on youth gangs, Corriere della Sera newspaper reported, accelerating provisions from an existing security bill currently being scrutinised by parliament.
Italian police said it had detained 271 young people during unrest in Milan on Sunday. Of those taken to police stations, 32 were arrested, including 23 minors and 13 foreign nationals, police said on Monday. A further 28 people were reported to judicial authorities.
The unrest followed clashes on Saturday in Milan and other northern cities including Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin, where 28 protesters were arrested, according to a police report released on Sunday.
The disturbances echoed unrest in neighbouring France, where hundreds of thousands of people angered by rising living costs and declining public services took to the streets on Saturday in some of the country's most violent protests in years.
A new set of curfews is set to be imposed in France tonight, prime minister Sebastien Lecornu has said, saying the measures last night contributed to “calm” across the country.
“Targeted curfews have contributed to the calm of this night,” Mr Lecornu said, adding that new curfews would be decided “on the ground, by the prefects, in coordination with the mayors”.
Last night, the French government imposed partial curfews across the country, including in Paris and Nice, after riots and looting amid nationwide protests over the weekend.
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